I finally got some internets, so I'm going to be around more :P Just thought I'd come over, throw something up, and see what happens :P This is the cover for my brother's Christmas present. I made him a role-playing game. This is sans text, pencil drawing with digital overlay, and eventually printed.
Hope you're all doing well :)
J.
Wow! This is outstanding, Justin!
ReplyDeleteColor, composition, light —everything is first-rate. The little decisions you've made here and there (like the treasure encircled by the tail, the slightly sloping mound of treasure, the rear 3/4 view, and the twisted end to the tongue all add a lot to the drama.
Keep it coming!
Thanks, man! :) Heavily inspired by N.C. Wyeth and Darrell K. Sweet. I appreciate hearing things like that, Chuck. Not the compliments, just the attention to details people often miss. I really enjoy messing around with diagonals and subject dominance. One of my favourite elements from Wyeth and the Brother's Hildebrandt is the secondary foreground. The character(s) in the foreground live in this shadow world that focuses your eyes on what's going on in the middle-/background. I like the framing element this provides, as well. Like, along with the character, here, we are looking with anticipation upon a scene. However, we have that window frame that even removes us from the foreground figure(s). And the interesting thing is the figure(s) in the foreground CREATE the window frame. I love these types of decisions and playing with the various 'grounds'. I took some technical theatre classes in high school. Painting all those canvas drops and learning how the stage is designed really influenced the way I approach paintings. I think of them like stages, and design them with that in mind. Not only does this help me with atmospheric perspective, but it also focuses me on what I want to 'say' in a piece. What part of the play will capture the whole thing, or what 'scene' do I want to portray, and how. I also like 'implied' narrative. My friend once told me my heroes look like they are always going to die. But I said, 'No, man. He's not been impaled, or otherwise damaged. The beast looks massive, sure. But I don't think he realized that I was using elements of scale and tension to create a high drama. You can imagine whatever outcome you want. Actually, his response made me wonder about his own thoughts on life, in general. You look at the scene and automatically think, 'Well, he's dead.' I look at it and think, 'Wow, what's gonna happen next? The hero just MIGHT die.' But we've all seen the genius story element of the cliff hanger that leaves our hero's life hanging perilously in the balance (usually with the words: 'Join us next week! Will so and so escape the clutches of the evil Dr. what's his name? Find out!' I feel like the audience should be just as much in charge of the story as I am. In fact, I love hearing what people have to say and what they imagine for the next 'episode' :P
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ReplyDeleteLooks good, man! Love that shield!
ReplyDeleteThanks, man! I like it, too :P
DeleteNice color palette.I like this style a lot from you. Excellent creature design!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Christina! I really enjoyed making the bulbous eyeball :P
DeleteEverything they all said - great color and composition!
ReplyDeleteThanks, man. But, I want a real critique from you :P Even if it's asking for changes :P What do you really think?
DeleteHey Justin - Thanks for the great explanation of what you did to make that composition work so well, and why. It has a classic look, with a lot of the elements that made the illustrations by Howard Pyle and N. C. Wyeth visually appealing while narratively exciting. I'm impressed with how good you've gotten at doing digital painting over your pencil sketch. Can't wait to see more of them.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Pam. I uploaded the pencil sketch so you could see the final drawing, too. Enjoy!
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